Practical discussion on contemporary life challenges from an ancient perspective.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

IN TUNE WITH GOD

“’Now, bring me a musician.’ While the musician played, the
Lord's hand came on Elisha.” (2 Kings 3:15 HCSB)

Musical
instruments need to be tuned. Time and use take their toll, and the result is
the same keys or strings may be struck on different instruments, but will have
a discordant sound. That’s not good for enjoying harmony.

Likewise,
we can be out of tune spiritually. There can be no harmony with God until we
get in tune with Him.Are our thoughts,
motives, and passions in alignment with His?

Elisha
was a man in tune with God.There are
several lessons here for us today.

The
first lesson concerns THE DROUGHT OF A
WORD FROM THE LORD (v.1-10).

“So the king of Israel,
the king of Judah, and the
king of Edom
set out. After they had traveled their indirect route for seven days, they had
no water for the army or their animals. Then the king
of Israel said, ‘Oh no, the
Lord has summoned three kings, only to hand them over to Moab.’" (v.9-10)

There
would be a real need for actual water to satisfy the army’s thirst.But, this drought reflected a spiritual
drought—the lack of a Word from God.There
were hundreds of false prophets in Israel, but they needed to hear
from a man of God.Later, Jeremiah would
condemn the Jews for turning to false religion and away from the Living God by
using the analogy of water:

“For My people
have committed a double evil: They have abandoned Me,the fountain of living water,and dug cisterns for themselves,cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.”
(Jer.2:13 HCSB)

Ponder
THE CAUSE OF THIS DROUGHT (v.1-3).

“Joram son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria
during the eighteenth year of Judah's
King Jehoshaphat and reigned 12 years. He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, but
not like his father and mother, for he removed the sacred pillar of Baal his
father had made. Nevertheless, Joram clung to the sins that
Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. He did not turn
away from them.”(2 Kings 3:1-3 HCSB)

Joram
wasn’t in tune with God.While the text
acknowledges that he wasn’t quite as off key as his perverse parents, Ahab and
Jezebel, he was still an idolater. He didn’t hear from God, because he
worshipped idols rather than the true and living God. The king’s gods were
silent because they were dumb images without the capacity to speak.

Idolatry
is such folly!Why do people give
themselves to that which can never help them? The things of this material world
can never buy us love, bring lasting joy, provide peace, or offer lasting security.
If we depend on the arm of flesh we can’t be lifted by the arm of God. If we
listen to the wisdom of the world, we can’t receive the Word of the Lord. That Word is what Joram needed, but he wasn’t
in a condition to receive it.

So,
the army faced THE CONSEQUENCE OF THIS
DROUGHT (v.4-10).

“So the king of Israel,
the king of Judah, and the
king of Edom
set out. After they had traveled their indirect route for seven days, they had
no water for the army or their animals. Then the king
of Israel said, ‘Oh no, the
Lord has summoned three kings, only to hand them over to Moab.’"
(v.9-10)

The
army found itself in a wilderness without water. They would become weak and be
defeated. Dehydration in the desert
would doom them.

Isn’t
that a picture of God’s army today? Here we are, a church of Christian
soldiers, in the spiritual wasteland of this world. We are weak and beaten down by the ferocious
forces of hell. What’s the problem?

The
drought we are experiencing is a scarcity of the water of the Word of God. The
heavens are shut up, the wells of wisdom are stopped up, and the river of the
Spirit is dammed up. In this state we have no hope of victory.The church has come to the empty cisterns of
pragmatism and traditionalism and emotionalism—broken cisterns that cannot hold
water.

A
second lesson concerns THE DEMAND OF A
WORD FROM THE LORD (v.11-19).

“But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Isn't there a
prophet of the Lord here? Let's inquire of Yahweh through him.’” (v.11a)

“Elisha responded, ‘As the Lord of
Hosts lives, I stand before Him. If I did not have respect for King Jehoshaphat
of Judah,
I would not look at you; I wouldn't take notice of you. Now, bring me a musician.’While the musician played, the Lord's hand
came on Elisha.” (v.14-15)

Elisha was a man in tune with God.As the music plays, the message is given, and
as the message is received a miracle transpires.This is what happens when we get in tune with
God.In these verses we see that there are three
keys to remember to get in tune with God: desperation, association, and
preparation.

The
first key is DESPERATION(v.11-13).

“But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Isn't there a prophet of the Lord
here? Let's inquire of Yahweh through him.’One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, ‘Elisha son of
Shaphat, who used to pour water on Elijah's hands, is here.’
Jehoshaphat affirmed, ‘The Lord's words are with him.’ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went to
him. However, Elisha said to King [Joram]
of Israel,
‘We have nothing in common. Go to the prophets of your father and your
mother!’But the king of Israel replied, ‘No, because it is the Lord who
has summoned these three kings to hand them over to Moab.’” (v.11-13)

You
know that the wicked King Joram had no desire to stoop to being a beggar by
going hat in hand to Elisha.Desperation
drove him.

Perhaps
our drought will elevate desire to the point of desperation. Maybe we will soon
find conditions so critical that we will humble ourselves and seek the
Lord.It could be that we will then
thirst for a Word from the Lord, cease digging broken cisterns, and return to
the Fountain of Living Water. It seems
that when most afflicted, we’re most attentive.

We
must desire and demand a Word from the Lord!What would happen in our churches tomorrow, if we would hear from men of
God who had a message from God? There will always be someone in tune with God,
if we take time to listen.I’m not sure
if we are thirsty enough—yet.

The
next key to getting in tune with God is ASSOCIATION
(v.14-15).

“Elisha responded, ‘As the Lord of Hosts lives, I stand
before Him. If I did not have respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah, I would
not look at you; I wouldn't take notice of you. Now, bring me a musician.’While the musician played, the Lord's hand
came on Elisha.” (v.14-15)

Elisha
did not answer because of the plea of Joram, but because of his association
with Jehoshaphat. The King of Israel was
undeserving of a response, so Elisha did it for the King of Judah’s sake.

We
can cry out to God in faith that He will answer, not for our sake—we are
undeserving, but for the sake of another—the King of kings—Jesus Christ! We pray in His name. It is our association with the Son that ushers
us into the presence of the Father!There is no other way to get in tune with God.

The
third key to getting in tune with God is PREPARATION
(v.16-19).

“Then he said, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Dig ditch after
ditch in this wadi.” For the Lord
says, “You will not see wind or rain, but the wadi will be filled with water,
and you will drink-you and your cattle and your animals.'”
This is easy in the Lord's sight. He will also hand Moab over to you. Then you must attack every fortified city and
every choice city. You must cut down every good tree and stop up every spring
of water. You must ruin every good piece of land with stones.’” (v.16-19)

This
was a matter of faith. They were to prepare themselves to receive water
although there was not a cloud in the sky—no stormy wind blowing or a clap of
thunder in the distance. They were to dig a channel to receive the miracle God
had for them.

We
are to make our lives channels to receive the flow of truth and then God will
send it. How do we prepare? We must dig into the Word and pray to the Lord. “This is easy in the Lord’s sight." God still speaks and He speaks to those
who are in tune with Him.

The
third lesson shows us THE DELIVERANCE BY
THE WORD OF THE LORD (v.20-27).

“About the time for the grain offering
the [next] morning, water suddenly came from the direction of Edom and filled
the land.” (v.20)

Great
things happen when we get in tune with God.

The
people of God experienced THE VICTORY.

“All Moab
had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So all who could
bear arms, from the youngest to the oldest, were summoned and took their stand
at the border. When they got up early in the morning, the sun
was shining on the water, and the Moabites saw that the water across from them
was red like blood. ‘This is blood!’ they exclaimed. ‘The kings
have clashed swords and killed each other. So, to the spoil, Moab!’
However, when the Moabites came to Israel's camp, the Israelites
attacked them, and they fled from them. So Israel went into the land and
struck down the Moabites.” (v.21-24)

Not
only was the water a source of strength for the people of God, it became a
weapon to defeat the enemy!The armies
of Israel, Judah and Edom went from impending defeat to
overwhelming victory!

That’s
what happens when we get in tune with God. The Word of God is the powerful
sword of the Spirit in our hands. God supplied the needs of His people. He has
promised to bless His Word.

“For just as rain and snow fall from
heavenand do not return therewithout saturating the earthand making it germinate and sprout,and providing seed to sowand food to eat, so My word that comes from My mouthwill not return to Me empty,but it will accomplish what I pleaseand will prosper in what I send it [to do]. You will indeed go out with joyand be peacefully guided;the mountains and the hills will break into
singing before you,and all the
trees of the field will clap [their] hands.” (Isaiah 55:10-12 HCSB)

B.Along with the victory, we experience THE GLORY.

C.Everyone recognized that day that it was God who brought the
victory and not man. God works in such a way that He receives the glory. He will not share His glory with another.

Our duty is to sow the seed of the Gospel in faith. It is not a clever presentation or emotional
manipulation that will yield the fruit of eternal life—but the powerful seed of
the Word. A church that draws crowds
through gimmicks and compromise will have only that—a crowd and they’ll get the
glory. But it is a stench in the nostrils of God. A church, however, that is
built on the faithful preaching and teaching of the Word of God in the power of
the Spirit will produce disciples and God will be glorified.

Let us personally get in tune with God. Let us lead our
family to be in tune with God. Let us insist that the church be in tune with
God!Then we will have the victory and
God will have the glory!

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About Me

I am a mountaineer by birth--a native of Asheville, NC. For a period of ten years I lived in the Charlotte area and for the last eighteen, I have been "home." I was brought up in a Christian family. In fact, I went to church nine months before I was born! Despite the best efforts of parents and preachers, I went astray. The Prodigal Son story that Jesus told in Luke 15 became my story--a sordid life of drugs and booze and that's enough for you to know. But at the age of eighteen all I had been taught came flooding back into my mind when I saw the mess I was in. Christ changed me. I gave my life to Him and as a result have spent the last three decades preaching the Gospel. I'm not all I ought to be and certainly not what I one day shall be, but thankfully, not what I used to be! God has blessed me with a great wife, five wonderful children and so far, twelve grandchildren. To Him be the glory and praise, now and forever.